Philadelphia Union off-season rumors are back under Ernst Tanner

After years of quiet off-seasons, transfer rumors have returned to the Philadelphia Union under Ernst Tanner.

It’s clear that Tanner is not as hush-hush about transfer rumors like Earnie Stewart was. The new sporting director’s front office seems like a leaky faucet, compared to Stewart’s. The rumors floating around Philadelphia Union are a welcome sight among fans, who want desperately for the Union to take the next step heading into their 10th season.

Before we look at who has been rumored to be coming to Philly let’s take a look back at why this is even worth talking about.

Rumors under Earnie Stewart:

Jay Simpson: Leyton Orient striker to join Philadelphia Union in MLS https://t.co/PV02xmTTAe #London pic.twitter.com/b2bC56vWQC

— London News (@DaiIyLONDON) January 9, 2017

Transfer rumors under Earnie Stewart were literally non-existent. Go ahead try to look them up, you wont find them. The only type of “rumor” I could find was the one above. This is a story saying Jay Simpson was signing with Philadelphia that came out hours before the Union’s official announcement. The tight-lipped front office under Stewart created an interesting occurrence for Union fans.

Any player announcement came out of nowhere, and gave fans no thrill of rumor hunting. The thrill of looking up a possible player that could be the next Union star was gone. Pessimistic fans were indifferent to the Union signings when they were announced out of the blue; optimistic fans thought every signing that came out of thin air would be the Union’s savior. There was nothing out there to lure Union fans toward the excitement of signing players

The lack of off-season rumor activity under Stewart, made the off-seasons drab when signings were made. That has changed under Tanner.

Rumors under Ernst Tanner:

Forward Sergi Santos' name is being floated around with the Union tonight.
Here is the link to the story in which he said Union officials came to him and talked to him.https://t.co/0AI2NSu46X

— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) December 5, 2018

Over the last three weeks there have been rumblings of rumors, some that have gained more traction than others. While this is not the first transfer of the off-season, let’s start by looking at the Sergio Santos rumor that came about just 24 hours ago.

This is a rumor that has some real traction. According to ADN Radio, The Union are interested in the young Brazilian Striker currently plays in Chile for Audax Italiano in the Chilean Primera Division. He has scored 19 goals in his 42 appearances for the club, and is their leading scorer this season with nine goals. The 24-year-old has also been coveted by Club Necaxa of Liga MX. Santos said told ADN Radio, that if he’s given the choice, he’d prefer the move to Philadelphia: “They came to see me, sat down to talk to me, Necaxa only spoke to me on the phone, I noticed that [Philly] was more personal…”

The Union are seemingly in contract talks with this young striker. Could this be the Union finding a south American talent along the lines of some of MLS’ powerhouses? That is yet to be seen. But, this rumor seems real, and the player is in the price range that would make Jay Sugarman happy. His transfer value according to TransferMarkt is around $570,00. We’ll see if negotiations actually progress. It’d be nice to see another young striker with a knack for scoring goals added to the Union’s roster.

This Rumor seems to be real, but the rumor that kicked off the Union’s off-season was a much, much bigger name.

Use caution when rumors emerge:

A source with knowledge of the situation has indicated to Brotherly Game that the Union and Mario Balotelli are in discussions to bring the Italian striker to MLS https://t.co/3r99fHzjyS

— Philadelphia Soccer Now (@phlsoccernow) November 29, 2018

As was saw last week these new Union rumors can get out of hand pretty quickly! An article put out on CrossingBroad.com by Kevin Kinkead spoke on how a source inside the Union organization saw changes coming. The source went on to speak about how the Union were looking for a striker, possibly a big name LIKE Mario Balotelli. A few days later there were multiple reports saying Philadelphia were in talks with the 28-year-old Italian superstar striker. That prompted Tanner to contact the Philly inquirer’s Jonathan Tannenwald to report that there is no truth to the rumor.

A fun 48 hours for Union fans on social media was tarnished by Tanner squashing the rumor, but the environment it created was one many Union fans have wanted for a long time. Just the thought of adding a DP quality striker worth millions made Union fans perk up, and think about all the positives that could come from it. While the thought was thrashed, it confirms that Tanner is looser than Stewart was on allowing rumors to circulate.

Another long shot rumor..:

ICYMI: What If we told you there were 6 main reasons for @FCBayernUS ⭐️ @ArjenRobben to spend the next stage of his career w/ the @PhilaUnion? What if we guaranteed the legend Shoofly Pie? The PA Dutch must have their left foot cut ins on the reg! 🤯https://t.co/v0hiN3IZ7K

— Bavarian Football Works (@BavarianFBWorks) December 4, 2018

Staying with the long shot of a huge name landing in Philadelphia, Bavarian Football Works, Bayern Munich SB Nation site, is making the case for Arjen Robben to come to Philadelphia. There is absolutely no truth or rumor in the story, they just contemplate where Robben should go after he leaves Bayern after this season.

The thought of a big name DP coming to Philly is tantalizing, but it’s something that fans should pump the brakes on.

Who knows if any rumors will actually pan out:

No one knows if any rumors will actually pan out, however, we can all take heart that there will be more as the off-season continues. We’ve already seen multiple rumors, and the calendar has not even changed to 2019. Don’t get your hopes up too much for any rumor, but be happy that they are actually out there for you to find! At least there’s something out there to look for to help remind you of the Union this off-season, and the possibility of the team becoming better through new signings.